Luke 22:19 - "And [Jesus] took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.'"
My daughters are home from their two months of mission work and also not yet gone to college for the Fall. In this little window of time, they've been pulling out the remembrances. You know, the pictures. From when they were little. And younger.
Pictures take us back. They can take us back to days of fond remembrances. To memories of cherished moments. To past moments that kindle a very real warmth of heart in the present. That kindle a warmth in the heart of everyone in the picture in a way that strengthens together the bond of all those hearts.
The picture doesn't need to be on paper. The image of a reality can be in our heart. That's the kind of image, the picture, the remembrance that Jesus is talking about in today's Bible verse in Luke 22:19. Jesus is saying that whenever we remember him in our hearts, not just some glance, but really stop and focus, and remember how he sat at a table with bread and with people who believed in him so strongly that they followed him. When we remember how he took that bread and gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to those people who believed in him so strongly that they followed him. When we really focus and remember him saying, "This is my body given for you," then the remembrance of Jesus is so strong that it's almost like he's right here.
Because he is.
He's right here kindling a very real warmth of heart in the present. Kindling a warmth in the heart of everyone in the mental picture, in a way that strengthens together the bond of all those hearts. Including our own. Because our remembrance of Jesus at that table both inserts us into the picture of that table but even more importantly, our remembrance of Jesus at that table welcomes him into the picture of this table. The table that is our present moment. To remember him and his outpouring of his life in the past is to receive him and his outpouring in the present.
How can this be? It's really quite simple. To remember somebody literally means to be rejoined to somebody. The Biblical-language Greek word for remember emphasizes the rejoining of minds. The Biblical-language Hebrew word for remember emphasizes the rejoining of hearts; literally the Hebrew carries the meaning of physically visiting someone. So God has ordained that remembering someone joins our hearts and minds and actually joins us together as if we're sitting there visiting together.
Because we are.
Do you need some companionship today? Do you need someone to walk with you today? Someone to keep you company? Someone to show you how much you're loved? Then remember Jesus. Remember how he's poured himself out for you. And it'll be just like he's walking with you and telling you how much he loves you.
Because he is.
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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